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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good addition to the Virgin River series, December 30, 2009
I've read all of the Virgin River books and was counting the days to this latest addition. Forbidden Falls is a good, sweet story; however, I was hoping to get caught up with many of the characters I've learned to know and love -- Jack, Mel, Rick, Liz, Walt, Muriel, Luke, Shelby, and even Cameron and Abby. But, it was not to be. I thought Paradise Valley (which precedes Forbidden Falls) did an excellent job of switching between characters' perspectives, developing multiple plots, while at the same time deepening our understanding and interest of many of the minor characters. This one fell short in that regard and is almost entirely devoted to the new characters, Noah and Ellie (likable and fun characters by the way). There is a brief subplot that revolves around Vannie and Paul, (they are faced with a difficult dilemma that rocks their marriage a bit) but I never really felt connected. The storyline was there, but I wasn't given the opportunity to go deep inside the characters' thoughts enough to feel their plight or to want to cheer them on. It's a good read, don't get me wrong, but after Paradise Valley I had hoped that the author would continue multiple subplots to develop the characters we already know, in addition to the introduction to our new Virgin River friends. I think Ms. Carr's best work is when she focuses in depth on a character and really brings him or her to life (as she has done perfectly with Mel and Shelby for example). I'll look forward to next month's installment of Angel's Peak, but I admit I'll be disappointed if my old friends don't come front and center for at least some of it. Thank you for another entertaining read, Ms. Carr; Please keep 'em coming!!!
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
missing my favorite characters, December 31, 2009
Forbidden Falls introduces two new wonderful characters to the Virgin River community. Noah and Ellie are great people with a lot of history, brought together by luck, the redwoods (and maybe god ;) Noah is a preacher who buys the abandoned church and Ellie he hires as an assistant/ jill-of-all-trades. I love their story. It has a HEA but also has the drama and unexpected twists that I have come to expect and love about this series.
That being said, the only reason I didn't rate this 5 stars is because I missed the brief but wonderful point of view changes like the other books. I LOVE reading about the continuing stories of Jack/Mel, Preacher/Paige, Brie/Mike. We did get brief glimpses of Jack, Mel, Cameron, Rick, Mike and Brie but none of their perspective. The only subplot that is given any attention involves Paul and Vanni (which I won't spoil). It was heartbreaking and so real the way they struggled with this problem. We don't even get a paragraph about Liz, Abby/the twins, Sheryl and Dan, and Tom.
Shelby and Luke get married but nothing is written from their perspective which was more than disappointing. As I read I felt there should have been more in places, like more was possibly written and then edited out. I sincerely hope with further books there is more of the sidestories that I have come to love so much. I have found Robyn Carr to be one of my favorite authors and hope after the next two books in the series I can still say the same.
(It reminded me of reading Virgin River Christmas, which was a good story but I missed the cast of characters with every chapter).
I look forward to reading about Luke's brother Sean (and others I hope) with the next installment.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Sweet but predictable, February 14, 2010
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
"Forbidden Falls" is a sweet, old fashioned love story between Noah, the town preacher and Ellie and ex-stripper. Noah is a man in transition. He has just found a new church that needs a lot of TLC. He needs an assistant and in comes Ellie, an ex-stripper that needs steady employment to get her kids back.
Noah was a great character. Strong, smart, handsome and steady, he was the rock that Ellie so desperately needed. He was the opposite of the stereotypical preacher. He wasn't preachy, but a down to earth, passionate, nice guy. Patient, loving and caring, he was a willing ear for Ellie as well as the other characters in town.
Ellie was a breath of fresh air to Noah. Bright, sassy, strong and optimistic, she never let her hard knocks turn her bitter or mean. She was a good woman, whose focus was her kids. Ellie wasn't searching for a man, but boy was she happy when he turned up.
There was a host of other characters in addition to Ellie and Noah. There was Vanessa and Paul, coping with an unexpected addition to the family. Nic and Jo trying to mend their marriage. And one of my favorites, Lucy, the border collie with a heart of gold.
While I liked the book, it started to drag a little in the middle to me. I thought that the story with Ellie's ex was drawn out and I lost interest before it was resolved. I also found the story to be predictable in a lot of ways. I found myself skimming the last 50 pages or so.
"Forbidden Falls" is one of the Virgin River Novels. Although, prior to this novel, I had never read any of the books in this series, I found the book easy to follow.
"Forbidden Falls" was pretty predictable, but the book was well written and sweet. It wasn't the most exciting read, but it was nice.
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